PRAYING THE ROSARY

My favorite prayer is the holy rosary. I learned how to pray the rosary when I was ten years old. I came to know the praying of the rosary at an early age. When I was five, I saw many rosaries at the altar of my mom's room, and whenever I go to church I always saw people praying the rosary. At the age of ten, out of curiosity, I asked my mom to teach me how to pray the rosary.

At first, I really don't know the story and the importance of the holy rosary. I just love praying it. My knowledge of the importance and history of the holy rosary came in 1993 when I bought a book entitled "The Secret of the Rosary" by St. Louis Marie de Montfort. I read and reread the book. The more I understand the secret of the rosary, the more I love praying it.

Just as the fetus is connected to the mother through the umbilical cord, Catholics are connected to the Blessed Virgin Mary through the holy rosary. While the umbilical cord is only temporary, the rosary is for a lifetime. Its importance is second to that of the Holy Eucharist. It keeps us within the shelter of Mary's immaculate heart, of Mary's influence, and most of all, it keeps us connected to the source of everlasting life, Jesus. Have you not noticed that when you are not able to pray the rosary for a day, you feel somewhat guilty or you feel that your day is incomplete? That's because the holy rosary is one of the most important nourishments for our soul.

The rosary has helped and saved me many times in the past especially during the darkest days of my life. It gave me so much strength in the midst of depressions. I told my friend who is a nun, that even though I was so depressed I never gave up praying the rosary and never stop attending holy masses. The more I'm depressed, the more I clung to the Holy Eucharist and the rosary. My nun friend then told me, "That's the reason why the devil failed to overcome you because even if you missed your snacks you still able to eat the most important meals."

It usually gives me inspiration and assurance that I'm in a good company whenever I see pictures of Blessed Mother Teresa and Blessed John Paul II praying the rosary. I want to go to where they are now.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!

- Mary June D.

ST. JOHN BOSCO'S VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINES

NEGROS AND CEBU PROVINCES St. John Bosco's relic is on world tour, and the Philippines is one of those countries his relic visited. His relic made visits to different provinces, cities and towns in the country. From December 5 to December 23, 2010, his relic visited the cities and towns of the provinces of Negros and Cebu. The relic's first destination in the Philippines was the Negros province where it stayed there from December 5 to December 11, 2010. The relic arrived in my hometown, Cebu City on December 12 at the church of the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, and from there, it visited other Salesian schools, homes, centers and the church of Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. On December 23, the relic was brought back to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes for a farewell mass before its voyage to the nation's capital, Manila. The relic's journey in the Philippines ended on January 15, 2011. St. John Bosco's relic...

BLESSED JOHN PAUL II'S TOTUS TUUS

"Totus Tuus". It is a Latin phrase which means "I am totally yours." This was Blessed John Paul II's motto addressed to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Have you ever wondered why John Paul II had so much devotion to Mary? Source: Wikimedia Commons / cc In his book, Crossing The Threshold of Hope, John Paul II explained that his motto Totus Tuus was not just an expression of piety and devotion, it was his total abandonment and personal consecration to the Mother of God. His deep devotion to Mary was manifested in many different ways; among these is his Coat of Arms which bears the letter M that stands for Mary. Even his coffin has a letter M on it. He credited St. Louis Marie de Montfort for his Totus Tuus when he read the saint's book "True Devotion to Mary." John Paul II came to know the book "True Devotion to Mary" when he worked as a factory worker at a chemical plant during World War II. He studied the book and oftent...

SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY ROSARY

The Holy Rosary is composed principally and in substance of the "Our Father" and the "Hail Mary". But what is the history of the Holy Rosary? In 1214, St. Dominic, a priest, was working hard for the conversion of the Albigensian heretics, but his efforts were hindered by the gravity of people's sins. Feeling so depressed, he withdrew into a forest near Toulouse, France where he unceasingly prayed for three days and three nights. He did nothing but weep and do harsh penances in order to appease God's anger. His body was lacerated that he finally fell into a coma. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and said: "Dear Dominic, do you know which weapon the Blessed Trinity wants to use to reform the world?" St. Dominic answered: "Oh my Lady, you know far better than I do because next to your son Jesus Christ, you have always been the chief instrument of our salvation." Our Lady replied: "I want you to know th...

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